iDIDJ Australia Didgeridoo Cultural Hub

Hi

I would like to back up what Kyle has said here. I own both didjshop and traditional instruments because like you I found the didjshop when I was first looking for a genuine instrument a few years ago and knew nothing of the aboriginal culture etc. I have 3 didjshop instruments and since then I now have 11 personal Traditional Yidaki and Mago (so that must tell you something!!) Our main concern, as you will see if you have read through his thread, is not just about whether they are good sounding instruments or not but whether Svargo's trade is as ethical as it purports to be. I have questioned him about many aspects of his business and asked some pointed questions to which he was good enough to send me a reply of which I have a copy. Even after reading through this I still would not purchase another instrument from him purely on the basis that I don't think that he is really supporting the aboriginal people as much as is indicated and that they are not Traditional Aboriginal Instruments. Despite all of this, Svargo's instruments at the best (even if they were totally made and painted by aboriginal people, which quite obviously they are not) are still only generic didjeridus. I am not suggesting that Svargo's instrument are rubbish or sound awful because they don't but what I am saying is that most people who contribute to this forum are Traditional enthusiasts and cannot bear to see the Aboriginal people being ripped off and losing out to people making didjeridu's and using the term "Genuine Aboriginal Didgeridoo" to sell their goods. There is of course a fine line here and it is up to each individual conscience to determine what is genuine and what is not and be happy with their descision but for Trad heads, only instruments with the highest cultural integrity. http://www.ididj.com.au/authenticity/label.html are good enough. I am on a family holiday to Australia in December this year and will be up in FNQ so will probably accept Svargo's invite to pop in and see him and his operation first hand, should prove interesting!!! One final note which I think is important and one which shows we are not just some blind faith group that poo poo's everthing that isn't traditional, there are some trad enthusiasts that do own non trad didjeridus but instead of purchasing them from retailers who hide behind the " "Genuine Aboriginal Didgeridoo" label and there are hundreds that do this , choose to buy them from independant makers who DO NOT pretend to be something they are not and who do not claim to be supporting the Aboriginal people. There are a few fine makers of didjeridus here in the UK that I have heard good reports from. So in a nutshell, if you want a Traditional Aboriginal they buy one from a recognised seller , check out the link above which will give you some help in deciding. If you want a generic didjeridu, thats fine but please don't buy on the pretense that you may be supporting the aborigine with your purchase because very often you won't be. Anyway enough of the lecture, nice to have you here. Please stick (no pun intended) around, we really are a friendly bunch and there is so much help and experience here, whatever you play.

All the best

Paul

For what it's worth, I think, when your buying online and you find a seller who's appraisal of an instrument matches your expectations for it you've indeed done well. There are a handful of sellers whom I trust in this aspect. When it comes to finding authentic traditional instruments, the number falls below what I consider a handful but fortunately , that handful is well represented here.

Ed

Interesting discussion here and thanks all for the input. This thread started because of questions raised by those concerned about authenticity, and in particular, the business practice of various retailers/manufacturers. It isn't about quality per se. You can find good didgeridoos easily enough, there are many many great makers these days not all of whom use conventional means of crafting instruments. Finding great yidaki, mago and wuyimbal is not so easy however and it is something I put a lot of effort into, and I hope the results are acceptable to all the good folks who have supported iDIDJ Australia throughout the years. I feel happy when I get positive feedback and I know trad enthusiasts some of whom visit this Forum are usually thrilled with their trad sticks sourced through iDIDJ Australia. That many of the best instruments offered by iDIDJ Australia end up in the private collections of the most hardcore trad heads or in museum collections gives me the kind of sense of satisfaction that keeps me persevering with iDIDJ Australia.

Robert, the instrument you purchased was a wuyimbal made and painted by Banyawarra. As far as wuyimbal instruments go, it was middle of the road in quality but note that wuyimbal are not particularly suited to Western taste as far as power, loudness and a nuanced, full-bodied voice are concerned. They do what they are made for beautifully, which is slow, tempered rhythms with drawn-out overtone notes. If you're looking for something more exciting that will exceed your expectations of what a didgeridoo can do, I can recommend a handful of yidaki here

Guan

Greetings again to you all,

Thanks, you all make me welcome here and have given thoughtful replies.

Guan, someday I will get another iDIDJ instrument, I admire the authentic ones, and am very fond of my beautiful Banyawarra.

A thought I had is maybe because of the nomadic lifestyle of Aborigine peoples, authentic didgeridoo tend to be shorter higher pitched instruments? The shorter ones are certainly easier to cart around. If longer, heavier, big belled instruments were in fact used in ceremony, perhaps they were left behind at sacred sites, while lighter mago types did the travel? Or perhaps not, maybe the Aborigine just never used low G or low A instruments? I'd be curious to know the facts...

Again, peace,

Robert
Corvallis, OR
USA

Hey Robert,

Good questions mate. Ok, low G or low A, wow, now that's low! I don't think it is the norm that instruments of such low pitch get used in ceremony or are the type sought-after by Arnhem Landers. Maybe for the especially sacred ones used in men's only ceremony but that's a different thing altogether and we'd better not go into details here lol!

I do have some older big-belled instruments (1940s-60s period for example) but they were not typical for that time. Sandra Le Brun Holmes (see "Land of the Morning Star" LP recording) commented on a particularly fine yidaki she saw at Milingimbi several decades ago, her remark was something like it was the best she had ever seen because of the size of it and the exaggerated trumpet shape.

And in more traditionally-oriented times, instruments tended to be thinner-walled and lighter, yes, not only because they were easier to cart around when there were no vehicles and planes around, but also they were easier to make! The great big logs that some Arnhem Land yidaki craftsmen use as starting material today were imaginable in days of old when there were no power tools, chisels and the like to aid in the construction of instruments.

Hope that helps!

Guan

Here are a couple of more recent but absolutely killer sticks from Arnhem Land that are in the key of C#, they are not the usual fare made and used in eastern Arnhem Land but as far as the sort of characteristics Westerners like, they could not possibly disappoint (both customers were over the moon with these 2)!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LMLnVZ6oQE[/youtube]

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CJCBxPSkqs[/youtube]

Yes, Larry Winiwini is a great player and could probably make any instrument sound reasonably good, but don't forget that all the instruments sourced by iDIDJ Australia are hand-picked, cream of the crop stuff. I don't usually find much appeal in keys lower than E flat, but occasionally something spectacular surfaces that cannot be ignored and re-writes what greatness is all about!

Guan